


we bled inside each other's wounds

by letek



Category: Re-Animator (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, House of Re-Animator, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Movie: Beyond Re-Animator (2003), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, but they're exes - Freeform, herbert's not normal and dan is confused, my interpretation of what we know the plot of house of reanimator would be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:02:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28971771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letek/pseuds/letek
Summary: Herbert West and Dan Cain haven't seen each other in 25 years, but they're forced by the government to team up once more in order to find the cure for death.
Relationships: Daniel Cain/Herbert West
Comments: 32
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

Dan sighed as he looked down at the creature that thrashed and struggled against the restraints which held it down on a table. He flinched as the reanimated corpse coughed and sputtered blood and bile onto his face. Dan walked away from the table and took the phone from his pocket, dialing the only number that was in the contacts. 

“It didn’t work again. Come get the body,” Dan didn’t wait for a response as he closed the old flip phone in his hand. 

He walked over to the sink and examined his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were dull and lifeless. In all honesty, he couldn’t remember the last time they looked like anything else. Dan noticed the wrinkles around his eyes and on his forehead, the grey hair dusting his temples. He wasn’t cut out for this work anymore. He had never been. 

Dan wiped away the blood on his face with a damp paper towel but even after he washed every bit of it off, he still felt unclean. 

Dan could barely fathom that the government had called on him to continue the dreaded research that he had worked on so many years ago. He knew that what they really wanted was Herbert’s expertise, but after he escaped from prison he had never been found. Dan figured he was just the next best thing to Herbert; he was the only other person who knew enough about the reagent to actually have a chance of replicating and improving it. Dan wanted to say no. He was going to refuse to help them. They had told him that someone in the government needed the serum. By the way these people had acted, Dan knew that it was someone important, like the vice president or maybe even the president himself who had died. Dan wanted nothing to do with reanimating a politician and letting them keep their political power as if nothing had happened. It was crazy and unbelievably ridiculous, maybe even as reckless as some of the ideas that Herbert had concocted all those years ago. There was no way a reanimated corpse would be able to function normally, let alone lead a country, and Dan didn’t want to be the person to help that idea come to fruition. But the people from the government, who broke into his house, didn’t take no for an answer. They immediately threatened Dan’s family, his children. Dan would be the first to admit that his life wasn’t great and after his divorce nearly ten years ago, all he had was his kids. He couldn’t let anything happen to them. So, he agreed. They brought him to Washington D.C. and holed him up in the most advanced and sophisticated lab he’d ever seen. He worked tirelessly, day and night, attempting to replicate the reagent. He had spent so many years trying to put the past behind him, trying to forget everything that was associated with that time in his life, that he had had trouble remembering exactly how to construct the serum. After a few non-stop working days and sleepless nights, Dan successfully made the reagent. It worked in the same exact way it worked decades ago- that’s to say, it made the dead body a dangerous shell of the person it once was. Here Dan was, reliving his nightmare. 

“You can’t keep creating these monsters! You need to fix the serum!” One of the secret service agents had come barreling into the lab. His last name was Janson; that’s all Dan knew him by. He was one of the guys that threatened Dan into coming here. In fact, Janson was the only person that Dan had had any contact with since he’d been in D.C. 

Dan shook his head and tried to rub the exhaustion from his eyes, “It doesn’t work that way.” 

“What do you mean it doesn’t work that way? This is supposed to bring someone back to life! Do it right!” Janson had a habit of talking with his hands and when he was angry it seemed like his entire body jerked violently with each word he yelled. 

Dan sighed, “The reagent has never worked ‘right’. It brings a body back from the dead, but it doesn’t bring the mind back. I told you that before you dragged me here!” 

Janson got close to his Dan’s face, purposely invading his personal space, and talked slowly, “Well, make it right then.” 

Dan looked down and leaned away from him, “This isn’t my work. I haven’t thought about it in over 20 years. Hell, I’ve actively tried to forget everything I know about this goddamn research. I’ll never be able to get the reagent to work the way it’s supposed to.” 

Janson backed away from him and shrugged, “That’s not my problem.” He started to walk towards the door but Dan spoke up before he could leave the room. 

“I think I might know how to lure out Herbert West,” Dan sighed.

Janson turned around and walked back over to him, “I’m listening.” 


	2. Chapter 2

Dan choked on the air around him- unable to get a good breath as he walked into the hotel room, knowing that Herbert was waiting for him in there. His breathing was ragged and heavy as he shut the door behind him, wondering whether Herbert would immediately kill him where he stood. 

The room was completely dark but Dan stepped further into it, despite his fear. He looked over to the back corner of the room and saw a black silhouette sitting in a chair. 

“Hello, Daniel.” 

Dan’s feet halted, hearing that voice brought a rush of horrific memories and dead faces into his mind. He couldn’t stop his hands from trembling at what he was about to face.

“Do you have a gun?” Dan noticed his voice was shaking, too. 

“No.” 

“Don’t lie to me, Herbert.” 

“If you don’t believe me, you can come here and pat me down yourself,” Herbert stood up and stretched his arms out. 

Dan jumped back onto the wall behind him and flicked on the light switch, “Stay right there!” 

Herbert furrowed his brow and sat back down in the chair, “Why are you so frightened?” He laughed, “I’m not here to kill you, Dan.” 

“I don’t trust you.” 

“What would I do with a dead body in a hotel room?” Dan forgot about what if felt like to have such a patronizing tone of voice aimed at him. The way Herbert spoke to him made him feel like he was 8 years old again, getting talked down to by his father. But Herbert was right- like always. It wouldn’t make sense to kill Dan in here. If Herbert did plan on killing him, it would be in a much more discrete location. 

Herbert must’ve been feeling impatient because he didn’t let Dan respond. “I’m just here to talk.” 

Dan played stupid, “About what?” 

Herbert sighed- he had never been able to hide his frustration well. Dan watched him grab the newspaper that was in his lap and throw it on the bed, “This.” 

Dan knew it was the national paper that contained the article on “Dr. Daniel Cain’s groundbreaking new research”. The article discussed the reagent and its effect on reanimating the dead. It mentioned that Dr. Cain had just moved to D.C. to work in a state-of-the-art laboratory in order to conquer humanity’s greatest fear- death. Dan and Agent Janson made sure to include any necessary details that would make him easy to locate for Herbert. And it looks like their plan had turned out to be a success. 

“I’m not stealing your work, Herbert.” 

Herbert huffed an incredulous laugh, “Oh really? Please, tell me how you’re not actually passing my research off as your own. Really Dan, of all people, I would have never thought you stupid enough to try something like this after seeing what happened to poor old Dr. Hill.” 

Dan shivered at the memory of the headless corpse holding Dr. Hill’s head over Meg’s bound body. “It was a trick. I made that article to lure you here.” 

Herbert scowled. 

“I knew that the only way you would come out of hiding is if someone threatened to steal your work.” 

Even after all these years, Dan could still decipher the nuance of Herbert’s microexpressions on his face. Herbert was seething- caught off guard and angry that he didn’t have the upper hand. 

“Why? Working with the feds to put me in prison a second time?” 

“No, well I mean-” 

“I didn’t bother you after I escaped from prison, Dan. I left you alone because I knew you wouldn’t want anything to do with me or our research. I gave you that courtesy! And this is how you repay me?” 

Dan stepped closer to him, “Herbert, I’m not trying to put you back in jail. I need your help.” 

Herbert’s chest heaved in anger, “What could you possibly want _my_ help with?” 

“These government people are forcing me to work on the reagent but I can’t do it, Herbert. It doesn’t work.” 

“What does the government want with the reagent?” 

Dan shrugged, “The vice president, or maybe even the president, is dead and they want to bring him back. That’s all I know.” 

Herbert scoffed and stood from his chair, frantically pacing the floor in front of him, “Why would you help the government with this?” 

“I didn’t have a choice! They threatened to kill my kids, Herbert! What was I supposed to do?” 

Herbert didn’t answer. He just kept pacing up and down the carpet, fiddling with his hands. 

Dan went up to him and grabbed his arms, looking directly into his eyes, “Herbert! You have to help me.” 

“Well, I don’t have much of a choice, do I? I’m sure if I don’t help, whatever feds you’re working with will put me back in prison.” 

Dan looked away from Herbert’s gaze and dropped his hands- he knew that Herbert was right. That’s what Janson told him. They needed that leverage over Herbert so that he would agree. 

“They told me that if you help with this, you can just go into hiding again. They won’t put you back in prison.” 

“And I’m supposed to believe that?” 

“Fuck, Herbert, I don’t know! You don’t really have an alternative now.” 

Herbert turned away from him, “God damn it! For 12 years, I’ve remained hidden, escaped the authorities. All for nothing!” 

Dan grabbed his arm and Herbert turned to face him again, “I’m sorry, Herbert. I had no choice.” 

“You had a choice. You’ve always made the decisions when it comes to my life.” 

Dan let go of Herbert’s arm and shook his head, “How could you say that? You controlled everything- about both of our lives!” 

“You sent me to prison! You betrayed me!” 

“The police already suspected you, Herbert. I wasn’t going to go down with you.” 

Herbert shook his head, “And to think I ever trusted you. I thought you were different, Daniel, I really did.” 

Dan rubbed his forehead, “We really don’t have time to go through all of this right now. I need to know if you’ve made any progress with the reagent since we’ve worked together.” 

Herbert scoffed, “Of course I’ve made progress, Dan. I don’t need you for everything. I was perfectly capable of doing the research alone when push came to shove.” 

“You’ve changed then. I seem to remember you begging me to not move out because you couldn’t do all of the work without me.” 

Herbert sat there, looking at him for a few seconds before finally speaking, “You know there was more to it than that.” 

Dan looked away from Herbert. He couldn’t believe that Herbert would even allude to any of the aspects of their relationship that were more... personal. Dan didn’t know how to respond. 

A silence lingered between them. Herbert sighed and put his head in his hands, “There’s more to reanimation than just the reagent. I’ve discovered a lot that you don’t know.” 

Dan looked back up at him, “Well, you have all the time in the world to catch me up to speed.” 

Herbert swept his eyes over Dan’s face, “When’s the last time you slept?” 

Dan huffed out a tired laugh, “They’ve been keeping me hostage in that lab for 5 days.” 

“You haven’t slept in here?” Herbert gestured vaguely to their surroundings. 

“This is the first time I’ve been in this hotel room. It was just a way to help you find me.” 

Herbert got up from the chair and opened the covers on the bed, “Sleep.” 

Dan shrugged, “They told me we needed to go back to the lab right away.” 

“I’m sure they have some kind of briefing they need to give me that you’ve already heard. And I’ll need to tell them everything I need for the new serum.” 

“But-” 

“You won’t miss a lot, Dan. Your brain isn’t much use to me if you’re exhausted anyway.” 

Dan huffed as he walked past Herbert and sat down on the bed, “Right.” 

“See you in approximately eight hours.” Herbert walked toward the door then turned back around, “I’m assuming there are some... personnel here that will bring me to the laboratory?” 

Dan was in the middle of taking off his shoes, “There’s a guy outside the door.” 

“Of course,” he reached for the door handle. 

“Herbert?” 

Herbert twisted his body to look at Dan. 

“Thanks.” 

He didn’t say anything in return. He just walked through the door, leaving Dan alone with his thoughts. Dan had spent nearly his entire life trying to distance himself from the infamous name of Dr. Herbert West. But now that he had seen him again, he wanted nothing more than to go with him, be by his side. It was like there was a magnetic field between Herbert and Dan and the closer they got to each other the harder it was to keep them apart. 


	3. Chapter 3

Dan startled awake from the booming voice of Janson yelling at him, “Get up, Cain. You’ve slept long enough.” 

Dan groaned and sat up, “How’s Herbert?” 

“Guy seems like a fuckin’ psycho,” Janson shrugged. “I brought you a new set of clothes and your toothbrush from the lab,” he tossed the items onto Dan’s lap. “I’ll be in the car.” 

Janson left the room and Dan sighed, pulling his knees close to his chest and resting his head on them. He wasn’t sure if he was truly ready to dive into the research with Herbert again after so many years. 

Dan took a quick shower and tried to mentally prepare himself for the day ahead. For decades, he thought he hated Herbert and he really believed it. Honestly, he had every reason to hate Herbert. But there was a stupid little part of him that still held Herbert with high regard, that still wanted to impress him. Deep down, Dan liked being the only person that Herbert could stand, the only person that Herbert cared for. He would be lying if he said that it didn’t hurt to throw Herbert’s affection and acceptance away when he decided to testify against him. It was like a drug and him throwing Herbert to the wolves was his first step towards treatment. Now here he was, back in arms-reach of his addiction. 

“So, this nanoplasmic energy is why the reagent never worked?” 

“Well, the reagent works in that it brings a dead body back to life, but the nanoplasmic energy is key to bringing the soul back.” 

“Soul? You never believed that had any bearing on the research.” 

Herbert waved his hand, “Soul, consciousness, intelligence, whatever word you use. The NPE accounts for it.” 

“How did you discover this?” 

“I did some experiments while I was in prison- mostly on animals.” 

“Mostly?” 

Herbert rubbed his neck, “Let's just say the NPE is one of the reasons I was able to escape.” 

“So, you've done this on humans. And it works?” 

“Not exactly.” 

“Well, you’ve been out of prison for over a decade, haven’t you done more work on it?” 

“Some, mostly in the first few months after I escaped. But I don’t work on it anymore.” 

“Why not?” 

Herbert sighed, “When I was in prison, the psychologists helped me realize that I had an unhealthy obsession with the reagent. Before, I was obsessed with finding the cure for death because I wanted to be the greatest scientist of all time. I wanted people to remember my name forever. I _needed_ humanity to revere me as the god I thought I was. My therapists helped me restructure that kind of thinking and made me see that I didn’t need to do all of that in order to leave a lasting impact on the world.” 

“But then why were you working on the reagent while you were in prison?” 

“I was on medication to lessen my obsessive tendencies but I stopped taking it about a year prior to my escape. That’s when I started the work again and discovered NPE. A few months after my escape, I realized that if I kept killing people to try to get the NPE to work then I would most likely be caught and sent back to prison. I moved to the Midwest and settled down, found a therapist, and started taking medication again.” 

“So, what do you do now?” 

“I work as a general practitioner in a rural town.” 

Dan couldn’t help but let out a slight chuckle, he couldn’t believe that this was the same Herbert West he had known all those years ago. He didn’t think it was possible. There was no way Herbert would give up his work. 

“And you find that fulfilling?” 

Herbert shrugged, “What do you do now?” 

“Well, I work as a GP too, in Boston.” 

“And do _you_ find that work fulfilling?” 

“Well, I don’t know. It’s fine,” Dan shrugged. 

Herbert raised his eyebrows, “Exactly.” 

Dan let that sink in for a moment- he never thought him and Herbert would end up leading the same kind of boring lives. He was still so confused, like the man in front of him had possessed the body of Herbert West and changed him from the demon he was into a normal human.

“If you don’t care about the reagent or your work anymore, then why did you come find me after you thought I was stealing the research?” 

“Nobody’s perfect,” Herbert shrugged. “I figured if you were getting national press for our work, then it would only be fair for my name to be included.” 

“Do you even go by Herbert West anymore?” 

Herbert shook his head, “No one has called me Herbert in 12 years.” 

“So, what’s your new name?” 

“Wouldn’t you like to know. You’re just going to look me up on the internet,” Herbert smirked. 

Dan shrugged, “Yeah, so?” 

Right at that moment, Janson barged into the room with loud footsteps and angry exhales, “I don’t see any work going on in here.” 

“We were just catching up,” Dan explained. 

“Do that on your own time.” 

“It seems as if we are refused to have the opportunity for any of our ‘own time’ here,” Herbert retorted. 

Janson stared at him and narrowed his eyes, “I don’t like smartasses, West.” 

“I don’t like pigs.” 

Janson quickly thrusted himself forward and stopped inches away from Herbert’s face, “What did you just call me?” 

Herbert didn’t flinch or react in any way. He just stood there, calmly- mere inches from the red, sweaty face of Agent Janson. 

“LAPD, FBI, secret service- no matter what organization, at the end of the day you’re all just dirty pigs.” 

Janson grabbed Herbert’s neck and slammed him against the wall. 

Dan leapt up from the stool he was sitting on and tried to pull Janson off of Herbert, “Whoa, calm down!” 

Janson’s hand was still around Herbert’s neck, whose face had started to turn red. The veins in his forehead were popping out, but he still gave no reaction. 

Dan grabbed Janson’s arm and tried pry his hand from Herbert’s neck, “Let him go!” 

After a couple seconds, Janson complied and Herbert immediately gasped for air. Herbert nearly fell to the ground but Dan caught his body and supported him up, grabbing onto his side. 

Dan looked over to Janson with a disgusted face, “What the fuck!” 

Janson’s chest heaved and his jaw was clenched, “Do your fucking work!” He stormed out of the room in an angry huff. 

Dan walked Herbert over to the table they had been working at and set him down in a stool, “Are you alright?” 

Herbert croaked, “I’m fine.” 

Dan kneeled in front of him, trying to get a closer look at the marks that were already forming on Herbert’s neck. 

He reached up to move Herbert’s chin so that he could see the neck better but stopped before making contact with his skin, “May I?” 

Herbert nodded and Dan lightly grabbed Herbert’s chin moving it up and side to side, examining the damage that Janson had done. “Looks like there’ll be some bruising.” 

After a few moments of no response from Herbert, Dan looked up to find his eyes fixed on Dan’s face. Dan noticed Herbert’s gaze drift down to his lips and he felt a rush of excitement swelling inside him. 

Herbert coughed and broke away from their stare, “We should get back to work.” 

Dan let go of Herbert’s chin and stood up, walking to the other side of the table, “Yeah.” 

Dan would have never thought that the intimate feelings he used to harbor for Herbert could ever resurface again. Turned out he was wrong. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -please don't hate me for my interpretation of what 50-year-old herbert could be like thx  
> -i could go on and on about why i decided to write herbert this way but bottom line is that people with antisocial personality disorder tend to become less severe as they age. and also with good therapy, they're able to get a lot of insight into their actions and they can change if they so choose, same goes for narcissistic personality disorder. so yeah i wanted to write a herbert that wasn't a complete sociopathic narcissist. don't get me wrong, he still is. just not as badly  
> -dan and herbert will have deeper discussions about this throughout the rest of the fic but i just wanted to put this out there right away bc i really don't want people to misunderstand or hate the way i write him


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> // content warning for homophobia, specifically the f slur

Two days went by and Dan had no problem getting back into the swing of things with Herbert- it’s like they had never stopped their research, like they had actually been working on the reagent together for the past 25 years they’d been apart. The two of them were a harmonious system that operated perfectly without any effort. They crafted new reagent, harvested nanoplasmic energy, and tested their concoctions on various subjects- all of this they did as one. They didn’t need to speak to know what the other was thinking- a shared look across the table and they understood the other’s thoughts. Dan considered it to be a type of strange domesticity, like the one they had shared decades ago. He didn’t know how to feel about it- about all of the emotions he experienced from being in such close contact with Herbert again. Normally, at least 25 years ago, there was a part of Dan that was afraid of Herbert, scared to make a mistake while they were working. Now, Herbert was different. He didn’t care about the reagent or the research like he did during that time. Like Dan, Herbert just wanted to get this over with- go back to his boring life. And that was something that Dan would’ve never imagined for Dr. Herbert West. Dan thought the mad scientist would die trying to conquer death. But here he was, the once crazed researcher, no longer interested in what was used to be his life’s highest aspiration. 

Dan looked across their work table and stole a glance of Herbert while he worked. Even after all these years, his features were still delicate and soft. Herbert had never had the face of a lunatic and that always perplexed Dan. Even though he now had deep lines on his face and grey in his hair, Herbert still had a youthful vigor to his appearance. 

_Must’ve been all that reagent he shot up back in the day_ , Dan thought to himself and suppressed a chuckle. 

“Why are you smirking?” Herbert’s voice ripped Dan from his thoughts. 

“Huh?” 

Herbert was writing down notes and didn’t bother to look up, “You looked over at me and then smirked. Something funny, Dan?” 

“How do you know that I looked at you when you’re not even looking at me?” 

“I saw you glance in my direction.” 

“Well, that means that you must’ve been looking at me, too.” 

“I just happened to notice it.” Herbert looked up from his notebook expectantly, “Why were you smirking?” 

“God, Herbert, it’s not a big deal.” 

Herbert shrugged, “I would like to know.” 

Dan sighed, “I just thought that maybe the reason why you look younger than you are is because you were always shooting up the reagent.” 

Herbert raised an eyebrow, “And you found that humorous?” 

“Well, a little,” Dan grinned at the way Herbert was reacting to this. 

“I was not _always_ ‘shooting up’ the reanimating serum, Dan.” 

“Oh come on, Herbert. You were using that stuff for like the entire first year.” 

Herbert pursed his lips into that little pout that Dan knew he did whenever someone else was right. “Regardless, the reagent doesn’t have anti-aging effects.” 

Dan shrugged, “You never know.” 

Herbert smirked, “I do know.” 

Dan just chuckled, “Mhm.” He knew it was better to acquiesce than to push Herbert further, even jokingly. “How’s the work going over there? You think we’re ready for another shot with the NPE?” 

Herbert shrugged and ran his hands through his hair, “I still don’t know why the subjects are reacting violently with the NPE. I think if we increase the voltage while extracting it, that might help keep its purity and essence, which could in turn result in a better reaction.” Herbert sighed, “I don’t know.” 

“Well, it’s worth a shot.” 

The worst thing about NPE is that it could only be extracted during death. Janson had given Dan a phone that had only his number in it and he would use it to call whenever they needed a new body or any other supplies. Dan would call Janson and usually about 15 minutes later, he came in rolling a gurney with a person on it. The person was always unconscious- some young, others old- Dan never knew where they came from or if they were already dying. He was too afraid to ask. Janson would come and go without a word, leaving them with a scowl like they were scum of the earth, as if they weren’t being forced to do this by him. Dan had never personally extracted the NPE- he always let Herbert do it. Dan didn’t need any more weight on his conscience than there already was. 

“Doesn't it bother you, deliberately killing someone for their NPE?” 

Herbert narrowed his eyes slightly. “I’ve killed a lot of people, Dan. You know that,” he said very matter-of-factly, as if the statement was nothing out of the ordinary. 

“Yeah, I know but I thought it would be different now.” 

Dan could tell Herbert was confused. “Why?” 

“Because you’ve changed. Or it seems like you have.” 

“I still have no problem taking someone’s life. I don’t do it anymore because I don’t have a need to.” 

Dan looked down at the ground, unsure of how to respond. Maybe this Herbert wasn’t so different after all- he was just less extreme and intense. Deep down, Herbert would always be Herbert and Dan was stupid to think that he could’ve changed so drastically. 

“You’ve always seen me as you want to see me, Daniel. I’m sorry to disappoint you.” 

As if right on cue, Janson strolled into the room with a fresh subject. Dan wasn’t sure if the silence surrounding them was uncomfortable because of the lingering conversation between him and Herbert or because of Janson’s death glare at them. The squeak from the metal wheels of the gurney was the only sound in the lab. Janson stopped right in front of them and promptly turned around, leaving the room. 

Dan and Herbert lifted the body onto their work bench, next to all of the equipment that they would need to harvest the nanoplasmic energy. She was young, maybe early-30s, and it didn’t look like there was anything wrong with her. She was pretty, too- blonde hair and a slender frame. She reminded Dan of Meg. Dan thought back to his past life, how he and Meg had planned on getting married and moving in together after he finished school- how that never happened. 

Herbert broke Dan out of his reverie and held out the electrical plug to him, “Would you like to do the honors?” 

An image of Meg lying on a hospital bed, dying, flashed through Dan’s mind. “That’s not funny.” 

Herbert shrugged, “Figured I would try to lighten the mood.” 

“Can’t really lighten the mood during a murder, Herbert.” 

Herbert sighed deeply, “If you don’t want to see it you can leave the room, Dan.” 

“Why would I care? It’s not like I haven’t seen worse.” 

“Well, you’re obviously in a bad mood. I thought that seeing me ‘kill’ someone might put you over the edge.” 

“I’m not even close to the edge, Herbert.” 

“Fine.” Herbert strapped the body’s arms down to the table, “Get the legs.” 

Dan restrained her legs and went over to Herbert, who was getting an empty vial ready. 

“Give it to me,” Dan motioned to the electrical plug. 

“What?” Herbert looked up. 

Dan took the plug from Herbert’s hand. 

Herbert flinched, “Dan, what are you doing?” 

“I’m gonna plug it in.” 

Herbert stared at him, “No, you’re not.” 

“Why not?” 

Herbert let out an exasperated huff, “You’re obviously not in the right state of mind. I’m not going to let you kill her just because you think you have something to prove.” 

“I don’t have anything to prove, Herbert,” he shrugged. “I killed Meg.” Dan gestured to the naked, unmoving body strapped to the table, “I can kill her, too. It’s not a big deal.” 

A look of concern spread over Herbert’s face and he walked over to Dan slowly, “You didn’t kill Meg, Dan.” 

Memories of Meg being choked, of him failing to resuscitate her replayed in Dan’s mind. He felt the hopeless emotions that he experienced all those years ago when he injected the reagent into Meg’s spine. Dan saw images of Meg convulsing back to life, choking on her own vomit and blood. He remembered the way she cried out in pain and died, for a second time. 

The plug slipped away from Dan’s hands, “I killed her.” Dan leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, “Why did I do that?” He could feel hot tears forming in his eyes, waiting for him to blink so that they could fall. 

Herbert kneeled down, “You were scared, Dan. You didn’t want to lose her. It’s not your fault.” 

Dan felt the wetness slide down his cheeks as he drew his knees close to his chest. Herbert sat against the wall right next to him. He took Dan in his arms and rested Dan’s head against his chest. “You did everything you could to save her.” 

Dan hated that he actually felt comforted by this- that Herbert, of all people, could make him feel better. Herbert brushed his hand through Dan’s hair while Dan cried softly into his shoulder. The work was getting to him. The constant death was taking its toll- drudging up repressed memories that he’d rather keep locked away. Herbert rested the side of his head on top of Dan’s and they held each other, not speaking a word.

They stayed like that for what felt like 20 minutes until Herbert lifted Dan’s chin up and wiped away any of Dan’s remaining tears with his thumbs. It was so intimate- it reminded Dan of the way Herbert would sometimes comfort him on particularly bad nights in Peru when the stress of war had gotten too much for him to handle. 

They looked into each other’s eyes for a few moments until Dan twisted his body towards Herbert and reached up to grab the sides of his head. He immediately pressed his lips on Herbert’s with a furious passion. Dan could tell that Herbert was taken aback- it took him a few seconds to respond. Dan kissed him softly until Herbert reacted with his usual fervor. Their kiss turned into a deep and vociferous embrace. Dan grabbed the hair on the back of Herbert’s head and bit his bottom lip. Herbert let out a small whimper and bit back. Dan felt like his head was swimming- full of a sort of dangerous ecstasy he hadn’t felt in decades. He moved onto Herbert’s lap and felt their hard cocks brush against each other through their pants. Dan moaned and Herbert grabbed onto Dan’s hair, yanking his head back and sinking his teeth into the flesh on Dan’s neck. Herbert sucked and bit at the spot where he remembered Dan was most sensitive. 

Dan rubbed his aching cock against Herbert’s, “Fuck.” 

Herbert grabbed Dan’s head and brought their lips back together. He kissed Dan with a hard passion that he had never felt before. Dan was worried that he might just finish in his pants soon from all of the sensations and emotions. Herbert moved his hand down to Dan’s belt buckle and began to unfasten it. Dan’s breath hitched in anticipation, until the door of the lab swung open. 

“Shit,” Dan got off of Herbert’s lap and stood up, refastening his belt buckle. 

Janson stood across the room stunned. Herbert sighed and stood up, adjusting his pants as he did so. 

Janson broke the silence, “Well I’ll be damned. I should’ve known.” 

Neither Dan nor Herbert said anything in response. 

“I’m here to take the body back.” 

“We’re not finished with it,” Herbert replied. 

“You two are usually done with whatever it is you do to these bodies within ten minutes.” 

“So come back in ten minutes,” Herbert’s voice was stern and surprisingly even for someone who had just been caught nearly having sex. 

Janson scoffed and turned around. Right before he left the room, he muttered, “Fuckin’ faggots.” 

Dan looked over to Herbert who was clenching his jaw and breathing heavily. “I want to kill that bastard.” 

Dan huffed, “I wouldn’t object.” 

“Don’t give me permission. I’ll do it.” 

Dan thought about everything that had happened between them in the past half hour, “Look, Herbert-” 

“We don’t have to talk about it, Dan. Let’s just extract the NPE so we can get back to work.” 

Dan was stupid to even think that Herbert would have a conversation about it. He sighed, “Fine.” 


	5. Chapter 5

An unconscious body laid on the slab in front of Dan and Herbert, ready for death and reanimation. The subject looked to be a man in his early 50s, similar in age to him and Herbert. They were hoping that this new batch of nanoplasmic energy would finally prove successful. Dan didn’t think he could handle another violent reanimated body attacking them. He was tired of getting the same results, time and time again. Reanimation wasn’t much better than it was all those years ago- the only difference is that it took a few minutes for the body’s aggression to kick in since they also injected the body with thorazine to act as a tranquilizer. In a way, it could make their work even more dangerous because if they let their guard down for even a second, that could mean life or death for them. 

“Ready?” Herbert had all of the equipment for his lethal gaseous concoction out on the table- the same fumes he used to kill that iguana they brought back from Peru. Some things never change. 

Dan nodded, “Let’s get this over with.” 

“Make sure to take detailed notes.” 

“Thank you for the reminder, Herbert. Because I haven’t done this a million times in my life,” Dan sarcastically remarked. 

Herbert ignored him and put a cloth in the jar of fumes. He let it sit for a few seconds then grabbed it out and placed it over the subject’s mouth and nose, holding it there for a solid minute then checking the person’s pulse. Herbert shook his head, indicating that the subject was dead. 

That was Dan’s cue to inject the reagent into the spinal cord while Herbert got the NPE ready. Dan looked up and locked eyes with Herbert, giving a slight nod to indicate that the body was ready for the NPE. Herbert placed his hand over the hand that Dan was using to hold the subject’s head up and he inserted the special electrical syringe that contained the NPE. After all these years, Herbert's hands touching his never failed to send a jolt of warm energy through Dan's body. Even if he would rather it didn't. After Herbert injected all of the NPE, they gently laid the head back on the table and waited. 

Dan wrote down notes on how long it took for reanimation to begin. This one was fast- the body took its first breath after only 6 seconds. It appeared to be struggling for air, just like all the other subjects they had dealt with. After a few seconds of heavy gasping, the subject began to convulse and foam at the mouth. 

“Dammit,” Herbert uttered as he watched the madness unfold. 

Dan got down close the subject’s face, “How are you feeling?” There was no answer. “Can you tell me your name?” 

Just then, the man broke away from the straps that were holding both of his arms back and landed a hard right hook onto Dan’s jaw. 

Dan stumbled backward, “Fuck!” 

“The thorazine, Dan! Did you inject it?” Herbert yelled as he tried to subdue the reanimated man. 

_Shit, I completely forgot_ , Dan thought to himself but was unable to communicate that to Herbert before the man had jumped off the table and pinned Dan to the ground. The zombie pounded and punched him until he could feel the coolness of wet blood on his face. Dan heard Herbert yelling, trying to get the man off of him. Finally, Herbert plunged a metal rod completely through the zombie’s neck and pushed him off of Dan. Herbert went over to the man lying on the ground and yanked out the rod, causing blood to spurt all over his clothes and the surrounding floor. He then rammed the rod through the zombie’s chest, with a dull thud, making sure it was completely dead. 

Dan had been trying and failing to get on his feet. Herbert went over and grabbed his side, helping him remain steady enough to sit on one of the stools. 

Herbert went over to the sink and wet some paper towels, “Are you okay?” 

Dan’s bottom lip felt swollen, he could tell that the skin had been broken, “More or less.” 

Herbert came back and gently wiped Dan’s blood away. One of Herbert’s hands rested on the side of his head, tilting it up, while the other tended to his wounds. Dan closed his eyes, basking in the euphoria of being alive after yet another near miss. 

“I can’t keep doing this, Herbert.” 

Dan opened his eyes and saw Herbert gazing down at him. “That makes two of us.” 

Dan averted his eyes and a comfortable silence formed between them as Herbert moved on to wiping his face with antiseptic and applying any necessary bandages. 

After a couple minutes, Dan spoke up, “It’s still hard for me to believe that you gave up on this work, that you don’t care about it anymore.” 

Herbert shrugged, “I realized that it was futile. Realistically, I’ll never be able to solve death, not without the proper funding and facilities, not without peer input and support.” 

“So, you just quit? Don’t you still think about possible improvements? I do sometimes.” 

Herbert finished applying the last bandage and grabbed a stool, scooting it over to Dan. They were so close that their knees were practically touching. “Of course I do. But then I think about it some more and realize that it wouldn’t be the solution to every problem in the reanimation process. And then I forget about it.” 

Dan shook his head in disbelief, “I never thought I would see the day.” 

“After everything we’ve been through, you should feel lucky that you’re still here to see it,” he got up from the stool and Dan could’ve sworn he saw Herbert wink. He must’ve been imagining things. If there was one thing Herbert West didn’t do, it was wink. 

Herbert went over to the dead body lying on the ground, “You think they’ll make us clean this up or do they have people for that?” 

“They better have a cleaning crew or something. I’m not touching that,” Dan walked over to him. 

Herbert sighed, “I could use a decent meal.” 

Dan narrowed his eyes, “Did you really just look at this dead, bloody body and think about dinner?” 

Herbert blinked at him slowly, “The events weren’t related, Dan.” 

Dan shrugged his shoulders, “Just saying.” 

“I’m getting sick of the shit they make us eat here.” 

“Well, it’s better than nothing,” Dan bent down to examine the body closer. The metal rod had left a fleshy, gaping hole through the man's neck. Dan knew that any other person would've been disgusted by the sight of it but he had become desensitized by death and gore a long time ago.

“I don’t understand why they refuse to let us go out to eat occasionally.” 

Dan looked up at Herbert and smirked, “They’re probably afraid we’ll run away together.” 

Herbert huffed, “Good point.” 

“Besides, even if they did let us get our own food, I’m sure Janson would have to tag along to keep us in line.” 

“That would be better than this. I shouldn’t be expected to give up all of my personal freedoms here. They’ve already forced me into helping them, the least they could do is let me go out to eat some good food.” 

Dan stood up, having seen enough of the mutilated zombie, “Well, technically, you should still be in prison. So, you shouldn’t even have the right to 'personal freedoms' like going out to eat.” 

Herbert rolled his eyes, “Thank you for that clarification, Daniel.” 

Dan pulled out the government-issued phone from his pocket, “I’ll call Janson, fill him in on what happened here.” 

“Ask him if we can go out for dinner while you’re at it.” 

“Why can’t you ask him when he gets here?” 

“He despises me, Dan.” 

“Well, I don’t think he likes me anymore than you.” Dan mumbled, “Not after what happened earlier.” 

Herbert gave him an unamused stare, “Just ask him. Tell him you deserve a break after almost getting killed.” 

Janson came into the room and immediately recoiled at the sight in front of him, “Jesus Christ. What the fuck happened in here?” 

“Dan forgot to give him the tranquilizer.” 

Janson simply shook his head with a disgusted scowl on his face, examining the mess surrounding the body. “I don’t know why but my superiors agreed to let you two have dinner in the city. We’ll get some people to clean this shit up.” 

“We should probably change out of these clothes,” Dan said to Herbert, who was practically covered head to toe in blood. 

“I’ve been ordered to accompany you two on your little... date,” Janson looked at them with a look of disgust that rivaled the one he gave to the bleeding corpse. “We leave at 1800.” With that, Janson left the room. 

Herbert looked over to Dan with a small smirk on his face, “Let’s get cleaned up.” 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> // content warning- brief mention of past alcohol abuse

Dan and Herbert’s dinner had been going smoothly. As expected, Janson had tagged along. Thankfully, he was at his own table across the room, keeping a scrutinizing watch on them. Him and Herbert had agreed on an Italian restaurant in Georgetown. Dan was reminded of the few times where Herbert would make home-cooked meals for them. He always liked making Italian and he was good at it, too. To this day, Dan hadn’t eaten a lasagna better than Herbert’s. 

Dan looked over to the table next to them. Two young men, maybe in their mid-20s, were holding hands across the table and laughing. 

“A lot has changed in the world since we were that young.” 

Herbert got a confused look on his face, “Hm?” 

Dan gestured over to the table and Herbert looked in the direction. 

“Oh. Yeah,” Herbert looked down at his plate and pushed around the remaining bits of hamburger from his spaghetti and meatballs. 

Dan didn’t know why he even brought it up and he didn’t know why he continued to press the issue even further, “Do you think things could have been different if it was like this back then?” 

Herbert huffed out a cynical laugh and shook his head, “I was the problem, Dan. It would be disingenuous to blame anything else.” 

“Have you... had any serious relationships since then?” 

“No.” 

“Why not?” 

“You’re the one person who shouldn’t need to ask that question. You know how I am.” 

“Well, yeah, but you’re kind of different now.” 

“You keep saying that but I’m not _really_ different, Dan. I’m just more aware of my nature now and I take precaution to not cause undue harm on others.” 

“You make it sound so calculated.” 

“Isn’t that how I’ve always been?” 

Dan shrugged, “Not always. You were genuine sometimes.” 

Herbert shook his head, “I appeared genuine when I knew that’s what you wanted. I manipulated you, Dan.” 

Dan furrowed his brow, “Well, why would you do something just because I wanted you to? By the way you’re talking, it seems like you wouldn’t care about what I wanted, only about your own desires.” 

Herbert thought for a long time, “I wanted you to be happy.” 

“Why? Why would you care if I was happy or not?” 

Herbert shrugged, “I didn’t want you to leave me.” 

“Why?” 

“I needed your help with the research,” he said matter-of-factly. 

“Bullshit, there was more to it than that.” 

“That was the primary reason.” 

“Okay, well what was the secondary reason?” 

Herbert sighed, “Why are you doing this, Dan?” 

“Because you make it seem like you didn’t care about me but I know you did. I felt it, Herbert.” 

Herbert rubbed his forehead, “It wasn’t real. The way I treated you was completely calculated.” 

“I don’t believe you. I think there was more to it than that.” 

“I’m sorry, Daniel, I can’t tell you what you want to hear.” 

“You can answer my question that you avoided.” Herbert stared at him. “What was the other reason why you cared if you made me happy?” 

“This is ridiculous. We need to get back to the lab,” Herbert began to get up from his chair. 

“Sit down.” Herbert complied to Dan’s stern order. 

There was a drawn-out silence between them as Dan stared at Herbert, who looked down at his food. 

“I wanted you to like me.” 

“Why?” 

Herbert threw up his hands in exasperation, “Because no one, not even my parents liked me as a child and I craved validation from someone I cared about. Is that what you want to hear, Dan? A psychoanalysis of my feelings?” 

“Is that true? What you just said?” 

“I’ve been through all of this in therapy, Dan. I don’t need to rehash it again.” 

“Did you care about me?” 

Herbert sighed, “Yes.” 

“Well, why are you making it seem like you didn’t then?” 

“Because it’s not real. It’s not the same way that you care about someone.” 

“Who told you that? Your shrink?” 

Herbert scoffed, “I could say that I feel even a minuscule amount of affection for someone and people like you, someone who sees the best in everyone, will take that and use it to say that I’m normal, that I’m capable of having a healthy relationship with anyone. I can’t, Dan. You of all people should know that.” 

“You’ve changed, Herbert! Why are you holding yourself back?” 

“To keep others safe.” 

“I can look after myself.” 

Herbert shook his head, “You haven't changed. This is why you were so easy to manipulate. You care too much about other people and let them walk all over you.” 

“You were the only person who walked all over me, Herbert.” 

“Oh really? Tell me about your divorce, Dan. About how your ex-wife took all your money and only lets you see your daughters twice a month.” 

“How do you know that?” 

“You need to learn how to stand up for yourself. Where’s your self-worth?” 

“Not everyone can be a narcissist like you, Herbert.” 

There was a silence between them. Finally, Herbert broke it, “Are you ready to go?” 

“I don’t want to fucking be here.” 

“Neither do I. Let’s get back to the lab.” 

“No, I mean, I don’t want to work on this goddamn serum anymore.” 

Herbert shrugged, “We have no choice, Dan.” 

Dan put his hands to his head and sighed, “I wish I had a normal life.” 

Another silence lingered between them until Herbert spoke up, “I’m sorry.” 

“For what?” 

“For ruining it.” 

Dan looked over to Herbert, “You know therapists have told me that I have post-traumatic stress disorder from everything- the ones who actually believed what I told them anyway.” 

Herbert didn’t say anything, he just let Dan speak. 

“The first few shrinks I had told me that I was schizophrenic and that I had hallucinated everything that happened or that I was a pathological liar and made it up for attention.” Dan paused for a moment, “It’s not like I could prove anything- everything about our work was classified. So, after the first two therapists, I stopped telling them all of the details. I just told them that I was involved in some freak massacres and that’s where my problems came from. They told me the trauma I got is why I started drinking so much. And the drinking is why Melinda divorced me- told our lawyers and the judge that I couldn’t fully be trusted with the kids because I was an alcoholic.” 

Herbert simply sat there across the table and looked at him. Dan stared back. 

“I wonder what my life would’ve been like if I had never met you. Meg would still be alive-maybe I would’ve ended up marrying her.” 

“Now do you understand why I’m ‘holding myself back’? Look at what happened when I didn’t.” Herbert got up from his chair and grabbed the check that had been on the table for the past ten minutes, “I’ll go pay this.” Herbert rested his hand on Dan’s shoulder for a few seconds before leaving- another calculated attempt at an emotional gesture, Dan figured. 

He should’ve hated Herbert, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t. For his entire life, Dan had felt guilty for throwing Herbert under the bus, sending him to prison. He knew that he had no reason to feel bad about it, that if Herbert had been the one in Dan’s shoes, he wouldn’t have even thought twice about sending him to jail. Maybe Herbert was right, Dan really didn’t have any self-worth. 


	7. Chapter 7

They didn’t talk very much when they got back to the lab that night. Herbert tried to start conversations with him but quickly gave up when he realized that Dan wasn’t interested. Just because Dan was forced to work with Herbert didn’t mean that he was required to talk to him. Dan didn’t do much work that night either. He just let Herbert continue the futile attempt at perfecting the serum. He was stuck in that room- nowhere to escape. He used to feel this way all those decades ago working with Herbert, but he had the choice to leave at any time back then. Now, Dan really was trapped. 

Dan’s neck was sore as he woke up hunched over the papers on the table. He looked at the clock and saw that it was just after 6 in the morning. He must’ve fallen asleep still sitting on the stool last night. 

“How did you sleep?” 

Dan looked over to the small couch that was in the corner of the room and saw Herbert sitting on the edge of it, frantically writing in a notebook. 

“Fucked up my neck,” Dan replied as he rubbed his hand on it, trying to get the kinks out. 

Herbert stood up and walked behind him, swatting Dan’s hand from his neck as he put his own hands there, massaging the muscle. 

Dan shook his head, “Herbert, I don’t need-” 

Herbert leaned down right next to Dan’s face and whispered in his ear, “I did it, Dan.” 

A chill ran up Dan’s spine- the tone of Herbert’s voice was tinged with madness, filled with the frightening menace of the Herbert West he used to know. 

Dan’s body stilled. He didn’t want to turn around and see the once familiar crazed look in Herbert’s eyes. Herbert continued massaging his neck as Dan feared the answer to the question on his lips. He knew what Herbert had meant, but he needed to be sure. 

“What do you mean? 

Dan could feel Herbert’s hot breath on his ear. “The serum, Dan. I figured it out. The reagent, the NPE, everything has come together.” 

“How do you know if it works if you haven’t tested it on anything yet?” 

Herbert grabbed Dan’s arms and turned his body to face him. Dan could see the evil lingering behind Herbert’s glare. 

“I just know, Dan! I can feel it! I waited for you to wake up so that we could share the experience together.” 

Dan looked away from him. This was the Herbert he remembered, the Herbert that he had been so afraid to see those few days ago. “You’re scaring me, Herbert.” 

Herbert frowned as he dropped his hands from Dan’s arms and stepped away from him. “What do you have to be frightened of, Dan? We did it!” 

Dan shook his head, “You don’t even know-” 

The door swung open as Janson walked into the room, “The boss is on my ass for an update. We need you guys to work faster.” 

“Tell your boss we figured it out,” Herbert giddily replied. 

Janson knit his brows, “Don’t you need to test it on people or something?” 

“Bring us a subject.” 

“I hope you guys are right. I’m sick of babysitting you two freaks,” Janson turned away and walked toward the door. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Dan saw Herbert take a piece of white cloth out of a jar of the toxic fumes. Dan watched as Herbert quickly sprinted up to Janson and placed the cloth over his face. Janson tried to resist, but the gas was too potent and it worked fast. Herbert guided Janson’s lifeless body to the floor. 

“Herbert, what the fuck!” 

“Help me bring him over to the table, Dan.” 

“Why did you do that?!” 

“You said we needed to test it out- here's our subject.” 

“Why him?! He was going to bring someone for us to test it on!” 

“He’s a bigot, Dan. He deserved to die. And now I will bring him back to life because I’m so benevolent,” Herbert laughed maniacally. 

Dan shook his head, “You’re fucking crazy.” 

“Get his feet and help me lift him up! He’s not getting any fresher!” 

Dan knew Herbert was right- that if the new serum did work, they had to move quickly. 

“Fuck!” Dan lifted Janson’s body onto the table and glared at Herbert, “This better work, West.” 

Herbert finished filling a syringe of reagent and handed it to Dan. 

“O ye of little faith,” Herbert smirked at him snidely. 

Dan felt the anger rising inside of him, he really did hope that this would work because then that would mean that he wouldn’t have to see Herbert West ever again. He would be free from this laboratory and the shackles of their research. Dan injected both the thorazine and the reagent into Janson and looked over at Herbert who had the NPE ready. 

Herbert injected it into the back of Janson’s neck and looked over to Dan, “This is it, Daniel- the culmination of our life’s work.” 

Dan’s eyes broke away from Herbert’s crazed stare. In that moment, Janson sharply inhaled, gasping for oxygen. Dan wrote down his observations, as he did every time they performed their experiments. Herbert watched Janson intently, full of hope. 

Janson’s breathing evened out as he came to. He quickly realized that he was strapped down to the table and tried to break free, but the tranquilizing effects of the thorazine prevented any serious aggression. 

He looked over to Herbert, “What the hell did you do to me?” 

“I gave you life,” Herbert grinned. 

Janson frowned, “Did you fuckin’ kill me?!” 

Herbert shrugged, “What is death if it can be rectified?” 

Janson spit directly onto Herbert’s face, “Fuck you, psycho.” 

Herbert wiped the spit from his face with his hand, “Are you writing all of this down, Dan?” 

“Yeah,” Dan couldn’t believe that the serum had actually worked. Janson seemed completely normal. There was no blood coming from his mouth or veins popping from his head. He was acting exactly like he would as if he hadn’t been completely dead for three minutes. 

“Let me out of here!” Janson tried to break away from the restraints again. 

Dan looked over to Herbert, “What are we going to do?” 

“We’re going to let him go.” 

Dan frowned, “He’ll kill us.” 

Herbert bent down, close to Janson’s face, “You’re not going to kill us. Are you, pig? After all, without us you won’t have the serum.” 

Janson stared at him and Dan could see his jaw tensing, the anger emanating from his core. 

Herbert continued, “We’re going to let you go and you’re going to tell your boss that we figured it out. We’ll use the serum to bring back whoever it is that’s so important and then we’ll be free to go.” 

“Fine.” 

Herbert began to unfasten the belt around Janson’s leg. 

“Wait,” Dan couldn’t believe that Herbert would let Janson go so quickly, without asking more questions. 

Dan turned to Janson, “What did you see?’ 

“What?" 

“When you were dead. Did you see anything?” 

Herbert shook his head, “You really still believe that there’s something else out there, Dan? A soul that goes to the afterlife?” 

Dan knew it probably wasn’t true, but that still didn’t mean he wasn’t a little hopeful. He liked to think there was more to life than this. 

He looked over to Janson again, “Did you?” 

Janson shook his head, “No.” 

“Can we untie him now, Dan?” Herbert sounded irritated, even disappointed, that Dan had thought of asking a question like that. 

Dan unfastened his hands and Janson sat up. He backed away, still not fully convinced that Janson wouldn’t freak out and kill them- become a deranged zombie like the rest of their experiments. Janson got down from the table and walked up to Herbert, pushing him hard onto the ground. Dan braced himself for the ensuing violence, the inevitable death of the reanimated Janson. But Janson just stepped over Herbert’s body and walked out of the room without a word.


	8. Chapter 8

Dan walked over to Herbert, who had just gotten up from the floor after being pushed over by Janson. 

“You alright?” 

“I’m great, Dan. I’ve accomplished my life’s work,” Herbert smiled. 

Dan went over to the couch- he was having a hard time standing up. He sat down and put his head in his hands. Herbert walked over to their research area and intently combed through his notes. 

Dan squeezed his eyes shut and tried to comprehend everything that had just happened and what it would all mean- for him, for Herbert, for the world. He didn’t understand how Herbert’s personality had flipped like a switch. The more he thought about it, the more he came to realize that this work was Herbert’s addiction and he must have run out of the strength to fully resist it anymore. Dan figured that Herbert must have found the answer to the NPE issue at some point during the night and that activated all of his old, underlying tendencies that he had apparently tried so hard to suppress for all these years. A small part of Dan felt sorry for Herbert. 

Suddenly, Dan felt a strange sense of danger and dread overcome him. He looked over to Herbert, who had his back to the door, and saw that Janson had quietly snuck into the room. He was holding a pocket knife and walking up behind Herbert. 

Dan felt his stomach drop as he realized what Janson doing, raising the knife up to Herbert’s neck. 

“Herbert!” 

Herbert looked up from his notes and Janson sliced open the skin on Herbert’s neck. Dark crimson blood spilled from the slash, staining the starched white button-up shirt that Herbert wore. Before Herbert fell to the ground, he looked directly into Dan’s eyes, full of shock and pain. 

“Did you really think I’d let you get away with it, you son of a bitch?” Janson bent over Herbert’s body and Dan looked around to find some sort of weapon, but all he saw was the metal rod that Herbert had used to kill the zombie that attacked him the day before. It would have to do. 

Janson stood back up but before he could turn around in Dan’s direction, Dan brought down the metal rod onto Janson’s head with all of his strength. He fell to the ground and dropped his knife, which Dan immediately rushed to grab. Janson was unconscious as Dan rammed the knife down into his chest repeatedly. Ribbons of blood landed on his face every time he pulled out the knife he had just plunged back into the body. Dan was so angry and emotional that his mind got lost in the act until he heard Herbert gasping next to him. 

Dan dropped the knife as soon as he realized that Herbert was still alive and semi-conscious. Dan rushed over to him and assessed the wound. Thankfully, Herbert’s trachea wasn’t badly damaged. The cut was mostly superficial, but he was still losing a lot of blood. 

Dan grabbed a towel from the sink area and put it on Herbert’s neck. “Can you hold that for me, Herbert? Apply as much pressure as you can.” 

Herbert weakly brought his hands up to his neck and held the towel there. Dan hoped that the pressure he was using would be enough to stop some of the bleeding. 

He ran over to his medical bag that he brought everywhere. Before coming to D.C., Dan packed everything he thought he might need in the event of a zombie attack. Thankfully, he packed sutures and surgical stitching thread. 

He grabbed the necessary supplies and ran back over to Herbert, who was barely holding the towel up to his neck anymore. He looked too pale- Dan knew that if he didn’t do something quick, Herbert would go unconscious and possibly lose too much blood. 

Dan tried to wipe away some of the blood that was on Herbert’s throat with an antiseptic cloth, but it was no use. There was too much of it- Dan would just have to stitch the area as it was. 

Dan got a suture ready and looked at Herbert’s ashen face, “No anesthetic for this. Sorry.” 

Dan inserted the suture and Herbert lightly whimpered in pain. 

“This will all be over soon, Herbert. I’m going to make you better.” 

Dan continued his attempt at stitching the wound, but it was more difficult than he had assumed. The cut went deeper than he had first thought. He was about halfway through when he realized that Herbert had gone unconscious. The lack of pressure being applied to the wound led to even more blood pouring from his neck as Dan stitched him up. 

Dan breathed heavy, labored breaths as he quickened up his pace. His vision became blurry as tears filled up his eyes and dripped down onto Herbert. He couldn’t bear to see Herbert like this- weak and dying. There were times in the past where he would secretly fantasize about Herbert’s death, but he had never wanted it to come true. Certainly not when he was around. Dan had personally witnessed too many people he loved die in his life and he wasn’t ready to experience that again. 

Finally, he finished the stitching and immediately picked Herbert up, bringing him to the experiment table. Dan had come to the conclusion that the only way to save Herbert would be to perform a blood transfusion. He knew that Herbert’s blood type was AB+ and luckily Dan’s was B-, which meant that they were compatible. The only thing was that Dan didn’t have any of the necessary supplies to perform a blood transfusion. Well, at least not a typical one. Dan looked at the boxes of syringes they had and considered the pros and cons of directly transferring his blood to Herbert through syringes. It was crazy. There were so many things that could go wrong. But he had no other choice. 

Dan tied a rubber band around his upper arm and inserted an empty syringe into his vein, drawing out the blood. It filled up and he took it out of his arm. Herbert’s skin was so pale that Dan had no trouble finding his vein as he inserted the needle into his arm and slowly injected his own blood into Herbert’s body. When he finished, Dan got a new syringe and started the process all over again. He hoped that changing the syringe with a clean one every time would lessen the chances of the blood coagulating and causing issues with the transfusion. It was wishful thinking, but there weren’t any better options. 

Dan performed this routine of transferring his blood into Herbert nearly a dozen times until he realized that Herbert’s breathing was frighteningly slow and shallow. 

Herbert was dying. He was completely unresponsive. Dan lightly slapped his partner’s cheek, called out his name, shook his shoulders, but nothing he did roused Herbert from his stupor. Dan slid down to the floor and put his head in his hands. He felt hot tears roll down his cheeks as he heaved sobs. Dan knew that he had given Herbert enough blood for his body to begin functioning again. But it wasn’t working. It should’ve been enough. Maybe he was too late and he had taken too long. 

“Please, Herbert, I need you.” 

Dan looked up to the table that Herbert was lying on. He knew what he had to do. 

Dan stood up and went over to Herbert. He checked the unconscious man’s pulse- it was slow, much too slow. Dan grabbed onto Herbert’s hands as he breathed his last breath. 

Dan felt Herbert’s body still, felt his pulse vanish, “Herbert?” 

There was no answer, no reaction. 

Dan felt so incredibly alone. His palms became sweaty and he felt his heart rate increase. Dan was scared. He needed Herbert. He couldn’t be gone. He couldn’t leave him. 

Dan grabbed the bottle of reagent that was on the other table and picked up a syringe. He sighed as he inserted the syringe into the bottle. Dan watched as the luminescent green liquid filled the tube. He tapped his finger against the syringe, popping any air bubbles. 

Dan went over to Herbert and grabbed his hand. He stood there for a few seconds, looking at him. Taking in the sight of someone he once revered as an immortal being, now dead. 

Dan lifted Herbert’s head and injected the serum, along with the NPE, into Herbert’s spinal cord, and he waited. He swore he could feel his heart beating against his ribcage as he waited for Herbert to awaken. 

Dan put his hand on Herbert’s cheek, “Herbert?” 

Ten seconds had passed and there was no reaction. No vocal response, no bodily response. The reagent wasn’t working. 

“Goddammit, Herbert. Please,” Dan begged and desperately shook Herbert’s body. 

After a few moments, Herbert coughed. 

Dan grabbed onto his shoulders, hoping that the reagent worked properly, “Herbert?” 

Herbert’s body jerked and convulsed. Dan tried to hold him down, make him better. 

Finally, Herbert breathed in a sharp intake of air and looked into his eyes, “Daniel?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- i guess i should say this is not 100% medically accurate. direct blood transfusion is possible but it would never be done in this way because it would cause a blood clot. but this is fiction so i figured i could get a pass on those details  
> \- if you haven't listened to jeff combs narrating the actual re-animator stories, i highly recommend it. i loved incorporating some subtle lovecraft ideas/references into this fic. so yeah you should [listen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X23rQFVSOr0) to it  
> \- anyway i had a really fun time writing this fic and i hope y'all enjoyed it :)


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